"Well, I suppose we can try again tomorrow," Luke sighed.

Rey's forehead glistened with sweat. The sun had beat down all morning, enough to remind her of her burning home world. She scowled at the three rocks sitting at the edge of the cliff, unperturbed, mocking her with every passing second. The lump of shame in her throat was hard to swallow; as was the humiliation of failing, yet again, to move the rocks even an inch.

"Master Luke, I know I can do it," she breathed out and wiped away her sweat. Concentrated.

"Rey, it's alright," he reassured. "Some force users just require more practice, that's all."

"But we've been at it for hours!" she spit. "It isn't working. How am I going to help The Resistance when I can't even lift a kriffing rock!"

"Language," Luke frowned and came to stand before her, placing his hands on the sacred rock where she sat. "You need to empty your mind and focus. Forget about The Resistance. Let them be a small voice in the back of your mind."

Is that what you do? She wanted to snap but held her tongue. An ugly, bitter feeling boiled through her, and guilt followed in tow. She didn't want to be thinking such thoughts, especially in Luke's presence. He already considered her power raw and potentially dangerous. Yet, the dark thoughts were alluring, too tempting to refuse. Rey liked how powerful they made her feel.

She huffed and looked at his hands tapping impatiently against the rock. His metal fingers moved in perfect time with the ones made of flesh. "Take a rest. I'm running late for a meeting with the elder caretakers, anyhow. Practice your mediation and we'll pick it back up again tomorrow."

She shook her head. "Once more. Just once. Please."

He sighed, nodding. "Alright. Go on then."

Rey shut her eyes. Breathed. She pushed outside herself once more, shooing away the dark thoughts clouding her head, but they clung on for dear life. She felt their sharp claws digging into her shoulders, cold against her skin.

"Rey?" she heard Luke ask.

No. No. I can do this, Master Luke. I can do this.

She tried shrugging the darkness off, but it held on tight, crawling up her neck, breathing into her ear.

"Rey!" Luke's shout came through as a whisper.

The world trembled beneath her. Fear tightened her throat. "Ben..." her hand reached for him, for his warmth and comfort, but the dark was impossible to penetrate. Chills crept down her spine and burned into her blood. They left me, she found herself thinking. A child's voice sobbed in the back of her mind. Her fists curled on her knees and her face grew hot with rage. They didn't want me. What's wrong with me... Over and over, she repeated it, screaming it in her head. Darkness cloaked her with ease, and she let it, drowning in its luscious waters. Filling her with power.

"REY!" Luke's voice boomed in her ears and shattered it all to pieces.

Her eyes snapped open and she lunged forward, gasping for breath. A deep crack had cut through the sacred rock, splitting it in two.

Next to her, Luke took a step back, shaken. "You went straight to the dark... To him. You didn't even try to stop yourself."

Rey shook her head. Beads of sweat ran down her temples. "It was calling me. I tried pushing away, but I was angry – I'm sorry. Master Luke?"

"I'm such a fool," Luke said. "I should have never made him stay. I should have thrown him onto a ship and sent him off to his mother. I thought I could make amends for what I did, but..."

She frowned. "You mean Ben?"

"The connection you have to him is spreading his thoughts onto you. He's luring you to the dark, Rey."

"Luke, he has nothing to do with this. He doesn't make it worse – he helps me."

"Helps you? Your pull to the dark was so strong you nearly cut through the whole cliff! You could've killed us both. Exactly what he wants."

"Why are you so intent on hating him?" she scowled. "Maybe he's not the person you think he is - "

"No. He's not the person you think he is."

Her brows came closer together. "Your father slaughtered thousands across the galaxy. Betrayed the Jedi Order. Murdered your master and tried to turn you. But you forgave him. Ben is your family as well. What's stopping you from forgiving him?"

"You don't understand," Luke turned away. "I've seen what he's capable of. Your power is equal to his. Snoke would revere him if he were to turn you. Think, Rey! The amount of power in his hand if he had his claws in both of you."

"That would never happen," she said. "I promised you I wouldn't fail you, didn't I? That includes The Resistance. That won't change just because he's here."

"Let's hope," he walked back into the temple.

Carefully, Rey hopped off the sacred rock and followed him into the shade, remembering something peculiar. "Wait, Master Luke. What did you mean before? Make amends for what?"

He stopped walking. His last step echoed off the stone walls. On the ground, the water in the prime Jedi mosaic became still.

"Everything," he said, and walked off.

Her mood soured and her spirit withered, Rey plopped down next to the mosaic, running her fingers through the clear water. Gold sunlight streamed in through the open archway and made the black and white rocks of the mosaic sparkle. Her finger traced the white circle embedded into the black side, Ben's face coming to mind. The memory of him in her hut. His wet hair hanging over his forehead. His skin on hers. The warmth she felt when he was near.

She looked around the temple to assure Luke had gone and cleared her throat. Her belly fluttered with nerves at the idea.

"Ben?" Her voice rang through the empty temple. The water in the mosaic shuddered in ripples.

Well hello, Jedi, he answered.

The sound of his voice elated her. "Good morning, warlord. Am I interrupting anything?"

Only my meditation, he smirked. I was seconds away from fully turning. Way to go.

"Well, good. Then I've just saved thousands from your tantrums."

Millions, he said. Think about it, though. Everyone gone. Just you and me. A whole galaxy to ourselves.

She bit her lip to keep from smiling wider. "That sounds rather boring, really."

Boring? She felt him frown. I'd kill for it. Literally.

"You would murder everyone to be alone with me, how thoughtful," she rolled her eyes. "I thought you might want to explore it on your own."

Without you? Now that would be boring.

"Well, you're not wrong," she agreed with a smile and slipped her hand under the water again. Her fingertips slid over the shimmering mosaic. "But why am I the exception?"

A long pause followed her question in which his thoughts scrambled like mad in his head. She heard their noise, loud one minute, quiet the next. You know why, he finally said.

Her heart picked up pace, matching his. "Do I?"

Yes.

"Is it about you?" she asked quietly.

Yes.

"And me?"

Yes...

"You're afraid I'll beat you if you even try, aren't you?" her face warmed with laughter, and he smiled at the sweet sound; like chiming bells.

You got me, he grinned. How was your lesson?

She hugged her knees to her chest and groaned. "Dreadful. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Why don't you come tell me about it? I want to show you something, anyhow.

"Where are you?" she asked, standing.

My hut. You know, the one they built on the other side of the planet.

"You mean the hut covered in moss away from the others?"

That's the one. Luke picked it out especially for me. The book said the villagers used it to quarantine their sick when a plague broke out a century ago, so... That was nice of him.

The most dilapidated hut of them all by far; it was situated near a massive tree, isolated from the others as he had said. The elderly tree's bark was dry and cracked. Its branches hung sideways over the hut. They were bare of leaves but coated in moss, as bright green as the moss growing between the hut's stones. It was soft and spongey to Rey's touch.

She stood just outside after climbing down from the Jedi temple, staring at the tarp Ben had hung over his door. She looked back, thinking of Luke, imagining how pink and scary he would get if he knew where she was. He would think the worst if he found her here. A struggle ensued in her head, and she hesitated to march forward. Her encounter with the dark earlier had frightened her enough.

She felt Ben's energy surrounding the hut, the tree, the air around them. Vigorous and intense as it was, there was also conflict stitched in-between. Conflict amid his darkness. It tugged at his core, pulling him towards the light. Ben Solo was torn, more torn than he would care to admit. He wasn't lost. Not yet. It filled Rey with wonderful hope.

Are you afraid? His voice came through, louder now that she was closer.

No, she replied, startled by her own answer. A million emotions ran through her being, but fear was not one of them. She longed to walk inside, to see him again. No matter what Master Luke might say. He was wrong about Ben. The Force, quietly humming around them, encouraged her with a gentle push forward.

Come here then, he whispered gently. I want to see you too.

Gripping her staff, Rey took a breath and she pulled the tarp aside. She walked into the shadowy hut, and her body froze in place. Her skin sprouted in bumps at the sight of him.

"Ben..." Rey gasped.

A ray of white light peeked in through a small window above, settling on him in the center. He was naked from the waist up again. Eyes closed. Legs crossed. He was levitating an inch off the ground, and his books, parchment, and pens floated higher still. They surrounded him as he meditated. A look of deep concentration roughened the features of his face. Rey gazed at it all open-mouthed. The desire to do it herself burned in her veins.

His gentle eyes peeked open and he settled back on the ground. The rest of his possessions followed suit. His pens dropped next to his ink bottles with a quiet clink! Clouds of dust formed from the old pages of his texts.

"Sorry," he coughed, waving the dust away and standing to meet her.

She pressed her lips together, mindful of his size. He wasn't wet like he had been the night he rescued her, but Rey still felt her emotions churn. She avoided his eyes, her face flushing. "Er - do you have something? A cowl or something you can put on?"

He smirked, but he didn't fight her. "Yes," he said and called for his black shirt left abandoned in his "bed". It flew straight into his hand and he slipped it on with ease.

"How did you do that?" Rey asked.

He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Years of practice. And Luke shouting. And Snoke shouting after that."

"You mean it will take years for me to be that powerful?" her tone gave away her disappointment.

"You are that powerful. You just need to hone it, that's all. I'll teach you. Just call me Master Ren."

She nearly burst out laughing, crossing her arms in defiance. "I'm not calling you that."

"We'll see," he smiled. His eyes wandered over her as well, and Rey blushed scarlet at the thoughts she couldn't help but hear. He noticed the curves of her hips in her clothes. How beautiful she looked in white. He liked the cute wisps of hair hanging on either side of her chin. Her lips, plump and pretty, garnered most of his attention. She stepped closer to him with confidence and his gaze moved to her eyes. He towered over her yet felt small in her presence. He was brimming with nerves as well, and they only got louder the closer she got. An inch away from touching him, she stared up into his dark eyes, waiting. But his pounding heart rendered him silent.

"Are you ready for your fishing lesson then?" she asked quietly.

He flexed his right hand, his fingers lightly brushing hers. "Starving for it."

"Good. Just call me Master Rey," she winked and turned on her heel. Using her staff, she pulled aside the tarp, and they both stepped out into the hot sun.